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2016 Volvo S90 Spied for the First Time in The Netherlands

You’ve read that right! A prototype of the 2016 Volvo S90 flagship sedan has been caught on film for the first time in The Netherlands. What are engineers doing a North Sea away from the Volvo Torslandaverken facility in Sweden is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain - the upcoming model will be manufactured in the People’s Republic of China.
2016 Volvo S90 9 photos
Photo: autoweek.nl
2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype2016 Volvo S90 prototype
Volvo Cars chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson said late last year that the Swedish brand is “going to introduce SPA and a new sedan here,” referring to the automaker’s state-of-the-art plant in Daqing, China. Intel on the Volvo S90 is as scarce as rainfall in the Sahara, but fret not for Auto Week’s reader-sourced spy photos and our intel are enough for now.

A faithful reader of the Dutch automotive publication spotted the 2016 Volvo S90 in the adjacent video and gallery on the A4 highway, 40 kilometers away from The Hague. Despite all the camouflage, it’s somewhat worthless to analyze the prototype Volvo S90 because it’s clearly a work-in-progress type of car. The taillights are non-production, as are the faux roof rack rails that resemble the buttresses of a Jaguar XJS.

Truth be told, only the overall shape, impressive wheelbase and glasshouse will be carried over by the production S90. Speaking of the glasshouse, would you look at the dramatic rake angle of the rear windshield? The 2016 Volvo S90 is promising a lot on the styling front and, from the looks of it, headroom for the rear passengers will be plentiful even for taller adults. Even though the hood appears to be long enough and wide enough for some serious punch, don’t get your hopes up for an inline-five or V8 motor.

When it will debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show on January 11th, the 2016 Volvo S90 sedan will be animated by the all-new XC90 SUV’s four-banger Drive-E engines. Mated to an eight-speed automatic as standard, the powertrain lineup is going to include a 2-liter T6 turbo and supercharged petrol with 320 horsepower, a 2-liter D5 turbo diesel with 225 HP and a T8 Twin Engine petrol-hybrid with 400 HP on tap.

Underpinned by the same Volvo SPA (Scalable Platform Architecture) that debuted with the second-gen XC90, it’s safe to presume that all-wheel drive will be featured in the options list. We’re keeping our fingers crossed the crystal gear knob and “Thor’s Hammer” headlights design of the XC90 will be carried over. The rumor mill hints toward a wagon variant dubbed Volvo V90, which is expected to be launched later in 2016.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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